Snow day creates different kinds of memories

A totaled vehicle is what Mickie Clifton will remember about this morning's snow.

"Coming down the little hill there I hit a patch of ice and lost control," said Clifton, pointing to Highway 7 west, the route she takes each morning to her work at Head Start Day Care from her home in Central.

Bruce Clifton watched from a rear view mirror as his wife's Ford Escape left the roadway.

"It was very scary. It was very scary," said Clifton, still visibly nervous.

As a safety precaution the couple caravanned and left work later than usual to give road crews time to gravel the roads.

"We were traveling about 40 miles an hour and everything looked good. And just one spot of bad ice and that's all it took," said Bruce.

State highway patrol called state road crews to gravel down the area.

Bruce will remember the snow day as one of survival.

"Thank God she didn't hit the diesel that was coming head on."

His wife knows she's fortunate too, but couldn't place one thing out of her mind.

"To top it off, I had one payment on my car and it was going to be mine. But now..." Mickie lost her words as emotion overcame her.

Across town at Stephen F Austin State University the snow made all worries disappear.

Laughter came from children and university students as they began a morning of sledding. The incline at the SFA football field provided a morning of fun.

"We saved our sleds from when we lived in Connecticut," said Cynthia Vanzzini.

Texans improvise. One tall student wearing a black cowboy hat showed off his mode of transportation down the hill.

"Just a tub cover, really."

Ben Bolton didn't leave the field until after dark and then came back for more.

"Someone even found a table and was going down it like a snow board," said Bolton.

"People were still posting pictures at the football field at three o'clock in the morning," said Kelsie Vaughn as she completed a snowman family in the bed of a pickup truck.

Snow brings other good memories around town.

At Pecan Park a grownup was on a squeaky swing.

Parents were sharing their child's first sight of snow.

At the SFA Ag Pond geese honked, perhaps a call of the wild. In a nearby pasture a horse pawed the snow to find perhaps a blade of grass.

Others found warmth indoors with a hot cup of coffee at Java Jacks coffee house. Perhaps they're the ones glad that by noon the sun had begun to melt the snow away.

Early childhood educators have been emphasizing the skill of coding to younger and younger age groups. Friday. Dunbar Primary School revealed that they're joining the trend by teaching their kindergarten and 2nd grade "Gifted and Talented" classes coding and technology skills, through toys, activities, and games.

Early childhood educators have been emphasizing the skill of coding to younger and younger age groups. Friday. Dunbar Primary School revealed that they're joining the trend by teaching their kindergarten and 2nd grade "Gifted and Talented" classes coding and technology skills, through toys, activities, and games.